Balahurang Duraan

una sa lahat, kahit medyo huli na, isang pagbati ng maligayang kaarawan kay Kuya Robin!!! *hagis pink confetti*

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i'm a man of humor and comedy. although alam kong marami akong drama sa buhay, mahilig pa rin ako sa comedy. but not the traditional slapstick comedy. and also not the okrayan comedy. though i admit that Vice Ganda and the likes gave me monstrous laughs, iyon yung mga tawang somewhat eh nakakakonsensya. kasi yung bawat tawa mong yun, may isa or dalawang taong nanliliit na sa kahihiyan (kahit na sabihin mong sport yan, somewhat nasasaktan pa rin yan kapag pinagtatawanan sya!).

and then there was light... a light that shone across the darkening world of comedy... a light coming from something weird... ilaw na nagmula sa isang dura!

yes, ladies and gentlemen! naduraan ako... and i love it!

nung huwebes, inaya ako ng kaibigan ko sa isang show. agad agad akong pumayag kasi una, free sya. pangalawa, wala naman akong gagawin. pangatlo, dalawang kembot lang yung location mula sa place ko. and finally, i've been hearing a lot about this show so i should grab this chance to watch it.

the show is called SPIT Manila... and let me tell you... ibang klaseng duraan to! pero bago tayo pumunta sa duraan mainstream, let's discuss the location muna.

ginanap ang show sa Quantum Cafe sa makati (regular showing every thursdays). dahil yata sa pagka-excited, maaga kaming dumating doon. sinalubong kami ng may-ari at itinuro kami sa table na naka-reserve for us. masasabi kong very sociable si Madam Donya (nakalimutan ko lang yung name) na may-ari ng cafe, nakiupo pa talaga sya with us at nakipagkwentuhan. and dahil daw special guests kami (apparently, nakalista pala kami as press!), she gave us access to the free buffet! yum yum! at least i don't have to spend for dinner that night! hehehe...

i checked on their menu habang pineprepare pa yung buffet, and i noticed one thing... healthy ang mga foods nila! yes, there are the typical chicken and pork dishes, pero karamihan ng items nila is focused on veggies! and kagaya nung nakalagay dun sa menu nila, low on sodium daw and zero transgram fat... parang oatmeal lang. sa mga health buffs at mga diet effect, this restaurant is a must try.

finally, okay na ang buffet, so kumain na kami. first is calabasa soup (not pumpkin soup, calabasa soup! hehe). masarap sya! i don't eat pumpkin, ah este, calabasa... pero nagustuhan ko yung soup. tama lang yung timpla, hindi nakakasawa. magandang appetizer.

after that, we served ourselves with greens and vinaigrette (tama ba spelling ko?) sauce. kung masarap yung pumpkin, ah i mean calabasa soup... MAS MASARAP ITONG SALAD!!! the greens are really fresh, parang kakapitas lang sa likod-bahay at agad na inilagay sa serving dish. the sauce (di ko na irerename, hirap i-spell eh!) is amazing... naparami pa nga yata ang kuha ko! i was so delighted with the salad, i came back for a second... third... and fourth serving!

then time for the main course. brown rice na may sari-saring green leafy stuff (di ko alam kung ano yun, basta gulay sya) and a choice of cream dory fillet (ano kaya ang hitsura ng cream dory na isda?) in lemon sauce or chicken fillet in garlic sauce. i opted for chicken, kasi yung isa sa mga kasama ko fish ang kinuha (makikitikim na lang ako, hehe). maganda yung pagkakaluto sa chicken. tender, yet sobrang flavorful. okay din yung fish. maganda ang pagkakasaing nung brown rice. and ang sarap nung pagkaka-season nya.

panalo ang foods. sayang nga lang at walang dessert. pero okay lang. the fruit juices are good as desserts na rin. my friend and i had ripe mango juice, yung isa naming kasama naman opted for green mango. both are amazingly good!

in short... PANALO ANG PAGKAIN NG QUANTUM CAFE! not to mention that the place is very cozy, and may wifi pa!

anyway... going back to the main event. a few minutes bago mag-start ang show, lumapit sa table namin si Chal (the girl from the coke commercial... ito ang beat, sabay-sabay, ito ang beat, bawal sablay) with a box containing markers, crayons, pieces of papers, a white board, a marker, and a pingpong ball. she oriented us what that kit is for and asked us to write a line from a song on a piece of paper. for whatever strange reason, i wrote this line.

no more walls, no more chains
no more selfishness and closed doors

ibinigay kay Chal ang papel (she's so pretty!) and she ended the orientation with a reminder... "no matter what happens, wag n'yo ibabato sa akin itong pingpong ball na ito ha! and just have fun!" then she left and went to the next table. lalo tuloy ako na-excite... bakit may markers? bakit may white board? at bakit may pingpong ball?

maya-maya pa ay nag-akyatan na sa mini-stage ang cast, and one of the girls started hosting the show. ipinakilala ang grupo at inorient kami on how the evening will be.

so the show will all be impromptu (well, almost all). there will be various parts in the show, and the inputs on the subjects of each part will come from the audience, which makes the show really interactive. and when we say subject, it can really go random from animals to SALN (ay... animal din pala yun, ehehehe), from science to fashion, from rated G to rated SPG... ANYTHING!

sinimulang painitin ang audience with a game of A-Z... we were all asked to finish the alphabet by naming something that we love to do during rainy season. the audience really started strong, sobrang hyper mode lahat! i can still remember the K-L-M part... K ended as Kissing, L ended as Licking, and M ended as... alam nyo na yun! tuloy tuloy lang kami sa alphabet, not knowing that the cast are actually taking note of the things we are saying... because they will use some of those inputs in an impromptu song after! ANG GALING! first part pa lang, ang sakit na ng tiyan ko sa kakatawa.

and from then on... sunod-sunod-sunod na makukulit na games and sections na. nagkaroon sila ng mini-game wherein they have to come up with an answer to the question "what are you doing" based on the letters that were given, again, by the audience. for example... the letters are F, U, C, and K... they came up with crazy ideas like... "fornicating underage children in korea" and things like that! basta! nakakatawa! there was also an impromptu tulaan about a topic that the audience gave... the controversial bayo ad! (i'll blog about this on a separate entry). meron ding beauty pageant (this is where they used some of the song lyrics), skits, teleserye thingies (dito rin, may song lyrics involved), and my favorite... motivational speakers! they have to act as an inspirational speaker in a symposium. as they speak, there are random powerpoint images being flashed and they have to relate it to whatever topic they are discussing. LAUGH TRIP!

i was even lucky to be a part of the last stint. i became the voice of god! ang bigat! there are two actors, acting out a scene (audience assigned them to act out the dilemma of counting salt!) and then in the middle of their play, they have to ask for "guidance" and "wisdom" from god... and that's where i come in. they handed me this book called "book of answers" and i have to randomly read a phrase out of it as an answer to their question. and then they have to relate my answer to the story, making sure that it is still coherent and on point.

the night ended after two hours of non stop laughing. i can't help but commend this group. what i like the most about this is that the performers are really really smart! sabi nila, mahirap magpaiyak kasi kailangang matumbok mo ang puso. pero mas mahirap magpatawa kasi utak ang kailangan mong kilitiin. and with a big group, and different levels of thinking, nagawa pa rin ng Spit na mapatawa at mapagulong sa sahig ang audience nila... without offending anyone! balahura ang tawanan, pero walang binabalahurang tao.

eto yung klase ng comedy na masarap panoorin. yung tipong hahagalpak ka sa kakatawa and matutuwa ka kasi you'll realize na "hey, may utak ako! nagegets ko yung joke!" eto yung comedy na hindi nakakahiya ipagkalat kasi walang nilalait, walang ipinapahiya, walang minamata. eto yung comedy na kayang bumuhay sa mundo ng stand up comedy. eto yung comedy na masarap ulit-ulitin kasi you'll never know what you'll get in the next show.

isang karangalan para sa akin ang mapanood ang Spit Manila. though nakakalungkot dahil hindi pa rin sila masyadong kilala ng lipunan. and so i promised to myself that i shall continue supporting this group, dahil yung mga ganitong klaseng palabas ang kailangang pag-aksayahan ng pera, at hindi mga kung-sinu-sino na ang tanging alam na paraan para magpatawa ay manlait ng kapwa nila.

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Spit Manila performs every Thursday at Quantum Cafe in Makati City. For more information about their shows, visit http://www.spitmanila.com

in line with Spit Manila's 10th year anniversary celebration, they are holding a 4-day event called Manila Improv Festival from 28th June to 1st July. the event will include improv groups from the Philippines and other premiere improv groups from China, Hongkong, and the USA. show and reservation details can also be found on their website.

early reservation is advised as the location's seating (Quantum Cafe) are kinda limited. also, it is advised that you come to the show with an open and witty mind, as this can definitely be an advantage and may also be the key to a wonderful show.

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Kuya Robin, pag umuwi ka dito sa pinas, let's watch this!